Bananas in Pyjamas Secures Disney Junior Slot in Asia

SYDNEY: The animated series Bananas in Pyjamas has been picked up by Disney Junior and five free-to-air broadcasters in the Asia-Pacific region, adding to its sales in the U.K., Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, among other territories.

Buena Vista International for Walt Disney Television International (Southeast Asia) acquired the CGI animated series to appear as part of its launch for the Disney Junior channel. Free-TV rights for the show have been picked up in Thailand (BBTV and Tiga), Singapore (Okto) and Hong Kong (TVB), while ABS-CBN in the Philippines has also bought new episodes. In New Zealand, TV3 will air the new series on their relaunched C4 Channel.

The animated series launched in Australia in May. The show was picked up by Channel Five in the U.K. for its Milkshake block. It will debut in September on Cartoon Network in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It will launch in January 2012 across Discovery Kids’ Latin American channel.

Cathy Payne, the chief executive of Endemol Worldwide Distribution, said of the show’s success, “Bananas in Pyjamas has been warmly received by the international market. Broadcasters have embraced the return of the much loved characters in a fresh format that better meets the need of their schedule and audience, while at the same time, retains the quintessential endearing qualities of the brand.”

Tim Brooke-Hunt, ABC TV’s executive head of children’s TV, said, “The Bananas in Pyjamas sit alongside Play School as ABC TV’s most important and enduring preschool brands. I am delighted that our decision to invest in reviving the Bananas via a new animated series has proven enormously successful, both in terms of an increased domestic audience and in sales to major international broadcasters. I have every confidence that a whole new generation of children around the world will grow up loving the Bananas every bit as much as their predecessors.”

The animated Bananas in Pyjamas series is a Southern Star Entertainment and Southern Star Singapore production for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.